| Rutherglen and Hamilton West | |
|---|---|
| Former burgh constituency for the House of Commons | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:RutherglenHamiltonWestConstituency.svg) Boundary of Rutherglen and Hamilton West in Scotland | |
| Subdivisions of Scotland | South Lanarkshire |
| Major settlements | Blantyre, Burnbank, Burnside, Cambuslang, Hillhouse, Newton, Rutherglen |
| 2005–2024 | |
| Created from | Glasgow Rutherglen and Hamilton South |
| Replaced by | Rutherglen |
Rutherglen and Hamilton West was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was created for the 2005 general election. It covered almost all of the former constituency of Glasgow Rutherglen and most of the former constituency of Hamilton South, and it elected one member of parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post voting system.
Margaret Ferrier won the seat at the 2019 snap general election for the Scottish National Party; she had previously held the seat from 2015 to 2017. Ferrier had the SNP whip withdrawn on 1 October 2020 after a breach of COVID-19 pandemic regulations, and sat as an independent from that date onward.[1]
In June 2023, Ferrier was handed a 30-day suspension from the Commons for her actions, triggering a recall petition which ran until 31 July 2023.[2] On 1 August, South Lanarkshire Council confirmed the recall petition had been successful, as more than 10% of the Rutherglen and Hamilton West electorate had signed. As a result, Ferrier lost her seat and the seat immediately became vacant. A by-election was held on 5 October to elect a new Member of Parliament, won by Labour's Michael Shanks.[3]
Historically a safe Labour seat, in 2015 it was gained by the Scottish National Party, when they won a record 56 of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons; ending 51 years of Labour Party dominance at UK general elections in Scotland. Two years later, at the 2017 general election, the seat was taken back by Labour by just 265 votes. Coincidentally in the neighbouring Lanark and Hamilton East, sitting MP Angela Crawley held her seat by just 266 votes.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Subject to boundary changes entailing the loss of "Hamilton West" (assigned to a new Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency), it reverted to the name of Rutherglen, and was first contested at the 2024 general election.[4]
- ^ "MP Margaret Ferrier's Covid Parliament trip 'indefensible'". BBC News. 1 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "Scotland's first recall petition published with details of where to sign". HeraldScotland. 9 June 2023. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "Margaret Ferrier: Covid breach MP loses seat after recall petition". BBC. 1 August 2023. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ "Boundary Commission Scotland 2023 Review Report" (PDF). Boundary Commission Scotland. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.